1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing rods and more particularly, to a fishing rod butt and reel seat assembly for use in receiving and supporting a fishing rod and fishing reel thereon, wherein the assembly of the present invention is structured to reduce manufacturing costs and assembly time while providing a substantially strong device capable of withstanding the large bending forces, loads, stresses and otherwise heavy duty use to which such assemblies are often subjected.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most conventional fishing rods used for deep sea sport fishing are made of three primary sections, the rod blank, the handle or butt, and the reel seat. Typically, the rod blank is elongate and defines the distal end of the rod, which is intended to be fitted within the butt. The reel seat is commonly secured directly to the butt rather than to the fishing rod itself. The end of the butt is frequently in the form of a gimbal having intersecting notches, and therefore, the distal end of the butt is specifically configured to be received within a socket permanently but movably mounted on a "fighting chair" on a boat or even on a "fighting belt" secured to a fisherman. In the sport of game fishing, strong forces are often encountered, which forces are transmitted through the rod to the butt assembly. Many fishing rods are not able to withstand the tremendous stress associated with deep sea fishing and have a tendency to break under the high load conditions inherent in the sport. Given the enormous amount of stress and "bending forces" placed on the butt assembly, it is imperative that its construction and design be adequate to withstand the aforementioned forces and to maintain a certain amount of structural integrity throughout its life.
Various fishing butt and reel seat assemblies have been designed in the past to overcome the tendency to break under the high load conditions present in the sport of game fishing. Many of these prior art devices are constructed from a plurality of intricate machined or interlocking parts in order to increase the structural strength and durability of the fishing butt assembly. A recurring problem however, is that the manufacturing process for such devices is labor intensive and costly. In an effort to reduce the increased costs associated with such multi-part butt assemblies, others have designed unitary or one piece fishing butt and reel seat assemblies. Known unitary designs however, are viewed as having problems in terms of their structural integrity and ability to adequately withstand the heavy duty use to which they are exposed. Alternatively, the materials used to construct known unitary fishing butt assemblies often hinder the performance of the fisherman or are simply unreliable. For instance, in order to provide a unitary fishing butt assembly which is sufficiently strong to meet the structural demands of the sport, some prior art devices form the entire fishing butt structure out of a sturdy, solid metallic material, which results in the device being slippery, heavy, cumbersome and only expedient to the fatiguing of the fisherman. In addition, such devices are expensive given the need for metal finishing. Even further, such devices are susceptible to rapid heating and becoming too hot to handle, particularly given that most deep sea fishing occurs in highly sunny conditions with no shade available. Consequently, many such devices utilize insulating materials such as foam, cork or wood to form a gripping surface for the user and to protect the user's hands from the heat conductive metals. A problem frequently encountered in such devices is that the metallic and insulating materials have different thermal expansion coefficients and therefore, expand and contract at different rates, which has resulted in the cracking and general deterioration of the insulating material.
It would therefore be highly advantageous to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which overcomes the aforementioned problems in the art. Specifically, it would be highly beneficial to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which minimizes the costs and assembly time associated with manufacturing such a device while at the same time, maintaining the structural integrity of the device necessary to withstand the large bending forces and loads which such devices are subjected to. It would also be highly beneficial to provide such a unitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which offers an insulative material sleeve which can accommodate the different thermal expansion rates of the materials used in the device and which could be easily replaced.